Tag: superheroes

Marvel Studios is on a roll. 14 films into their box office domination, they have this down to a science. Condemn them all you want for a predictable blend of colorful action, quippy humor, and lovable, flawed characters; they know the exact type of crowd-pleasing films they’re aiming for and reliably hit that mark. Doctor Strange is no exception to this pattern. Its hero’s journey is predictable, even if the details are unique. Its action is spectacular and fresh, even if the outcome feels preordained. Speaking of that action, Doctor Strange‘s…

Suicide Squad‘s got 99 problems, but its opening box office ain’t one of them. The movie has been out less than a week and it’s already blown away Guardians of the Galaxy‘s previous record of Best August Opening Ever. But Squad isn’t as good as Guardians. Not even close. So what’s happening here? You could say that Guardians paved the way. Squad‘s marketing is certainly derivative of that film’s, with its classic pop, criminal anti-heroes, and overall sense of fun. Deadpool‘s success also likely created an immediate audience for humorous,…

This is the fourth and final (for now) week of The Powerwolf’s Beginner’s Guide to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and friends. PART 1 started with Captain America in WWII. PART 2 saw a world of heroes step into the limelight. PART 3 focused on the escalation of conflict now that superheroes have been revealed. PART 4 will take us right up to this year’s Captain America: Civil War. Things have hit a fever pitch. Superweirdos are falling out of the woodwork and the world is more concerned than ever. Something big is building, and for our heroes, things are about to go from bad to worse. You know what that means. More awesome movies for us!

For the past two weeks, The Powerwolf has taken you on a guided tour of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and its related properties. PART 1 brought us all the way to the modern era of heroes, and PART 2 through the first assemblage of The Avengers, and its immediate aftermath. Now that we live in a world defined by superfolk, things have begun to escalate, and these connections are beginning to mean more than ever before.

Last week we began with PART 1 of our Beginner’s Guide the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and its related properties. Marvel Studios’ films have a (nearly) flawless continuity. Their brethren? Not so much. But since the X-Men, pre-MCU Spider-Man, and more are vital members of the Marvel family, they are included in this timeline in a slightly less official capacity. My job, as your guide, will be to detail the nature of entries that might make a little less chronological sense, and let you know which Marvel films are worth watching, why… and, most importantly, in what order to make the most of this sprawling narrative.

Once upon a time, superhero fans were lucky to get a movie or two per decade featuring characters in colorful costumes fighting crime. Even then, most of them were poorly executed – not only as a film, but as representations of everything that their source material stood for. That has changed dramatically, and while we still have the occasional dud, the mythos of superheroes has exploded in a big way – particularly in the pantheon of Marvel Comics heroes.

A lot of you may be wondering how mild mannered blogger, The Powerwolf, managed to land a gig writing part-time for a mighty internet powerhouse like Screen Rant. Well the answer is Hard Work. Hard Work, and having lots of opinions and then writing about them, and then creating a news article sample in the style of a Screen Rant article whilst slowly descending into a dream-like chaos that I may never return from.

James Gunn set a new trend in film a year before Guardians of the Galaxy even released into theaters, and it all started with the AWESOME MIX VOL. 1. When the film’s teaser trailer released, thousands of digital purchases for the song “Hooked on a Feeling” immediately followed. The obscure but fun oldie contrasted and complemented the sci-fi visuals so succinctly that audiences immediately were on board with a movie starring a talking tree and machine-gun-wielding raccoon. Seemingly overnight, popular action movies like Suicide Squad and Star Trek Beyond also had classic pop songs in their trailers. As James Gunn put it, “Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.”

Leaving the theater, my disappointment with X-Men: Apocalypse felt very strange to me. In fact, I’ve never felt so simply weird about a superhero movie in my life. After some reflection, I finally realized why that was. Apocalypse is just like a comic book, and that’s why it sucks.

Captain America: Civil War, is a finely tuned, tightly paced, smartly scripted, big budget, action-packed jamboree. It’s both a continuation of Captain America’s (currently) 5 movie character arc, and the 13th episodic chapter in the ever expanding Marvel movie lineup. Most of all, it’s proof that Superhero films don’t need to be trivial to be fun, and don’t need to be “angsty” to be deep. They simply need creators who get what they’re working with, and why it works. Civil War is quite nearly a damn flawless movie, and it’s an indication that Marvel isn’t losing steam – they’re just getting started.